Spontanious Combustion
by 20 Thousand Leagues
Summary: A DouWata collection of drabbles from the lj community's 50 themes. Theme 4: Doumeki could be picture perfect.
1. That State of Mind

Theme 1: Wishes

Watanuki just couldn't stop making wishes, and Doumeki had only ever made one. He had wished then to save Watanuki, to keep what he had not wished for, but had found. Kimihiro just didn't get it, couldn't understand it... the conviction Doumeki had, the absolute determination without doubts.

It was a state of mind Watanuki just couldn't seem to stumble upon, no matter where he looked or how hard he tried.

No one ever bothered to mention that state was only achievable by years of preparation... and the only thing that ever inspired it in Doumeki was Kimihiro in danger.


	2. Whole

Theme 24: Mirror

Watanuki looks in the mirror and sees a little bit of him and a little bit of Doumeki.

It might be scary or strange for anyone else, but it's what keeps Watanuki from self sacrifice.

Because, you see, with Doumeki's eye, blood, and everything else he's given to Watanuki for safekeeping, he's been shown he's worth saving. And if Watanuki tries to sacrifice himself, Doumeki's gonna storm in and sacrifice twice as much to keep him whole.

A little bit of him and a little bit of Shizuka. It makes him more whole than he would have ever been alone.


	3. A Love–Hate Relationship

Theme 34: Spare Me

Lunchtime had come around again, and three bento were open and resting on the dull, cheap linoleum-tiled floors of school. Kunogi had chosen (as usual) to be similarly dense, and to show that off.

"Watanuki-kun and Doumeki-kun are such good friends!" she chirruped as Watanuki attempted to beat Doumeki to death with his chopsticks.

Before Watanuki could even utter a word to the contrary, Doumeki stood, leaving his finished bento on the ground.

He threw her a look. "Spare me," he muttered, and set off for archery, thinking,

'It's more like a love-hate relationship than any friendship I'd ever seen.'


	4. Disgrace to the Art

A/N: My first piece in quite a while- I've been in South America studying, and I had no time to write there. I just got back a bit ago, and wrote this right away-- it's my fourth theme, Teaspoon. This piece went under relatively heavy editing, so I hope it turned out pretty well. 

Title: Disgrace to the Art (Of Cooking)

"A teaspoon," Watanuki snapped, "does not mean a tablespoon, under any circumstances. I simply do not understand how you could mess up banana bread. It's banana bread!"

"It's the thought that counted."

"Yes, the thought counts when one thinks it out. You clearly didn't, rather unsurprisingly, as you seem INCAPABLE of intellegence in ANY FORM!"

This accusation, Doumeki thought, was unfair. He thought enough to figure out the important things, while Watanuki apparently couldn't.

It was obvious to him that Watanuki's ensured well being topped his list, followed shortly thereafter by Watanuki's happiness. Watanuki's cooking placed around 5... quite possibly 4.


	5. Disaster No 104

A/N: Title inspired, yes, by Mambo #5. Written directly after 142 came out, and thus could be seen as taking place in that general sequence, although there are no actual spoilers. Not so sure the Douwata came through clear enough on this one. It's more.. implied, rather than being tangible.  
Theme 47: I Believe In

When a panting, visibly shaken Himawari slammed the shrine gate open with no regard for the fact that this i was /i a shrine, last time he checked, Doumeki hardly hesitated. He rose to his feet, grabbed his bow, and asked,

"What happened?"

"I don't know!" she cried hysterically. "He just collapsed and started bleeding and told me to come get you!"

Doumeki set off at a jog, passing her by as he slipped through the gate.

"Wait!" Himawari called at the last second. He turned. "He said to tell you he believes in you."

Doumeki pivoted and began to sprint.


	6. Ceaseless Time and Infrangible Clocks

Theme 37: Broken Clock

Yuuko had warned him yesterday to beware of ceaseless time and infrangible clocks. He had looked at her a moment before saying, "Time never stops, Yuuko-san." She had looked back at him and said, "Isn't that the problem?"

He hadn't know what she meant until now, with Doumeki lying on the pavement and Haruka's watch resting on the city's worn sidewalks. It was cracked, yet seemed in perfect form, mercilessly ticking away Doumeki's life.

Watanuki waited, without knowing what to do. He smashed the clock on impulse, and Yuuko showed up long before the paramedics did.  



	7. How to Deal

#46: Another Bottle

He glanced at the sake bottles, stacked green-glass pyramids that filled the room. Going through Yuuko's things was much harder than he had expected; almost everything brought back memories, including these racks that stretched endlessly. Watanuki couldn't imagine anyone drinking that much, not even Yuuko...! but his rising agitation was quelled quickly by her memory. He moved on hastily.

That storeroom didn't open its doors again until Watanuki had to explain it to his successor.

"This is how Yuuko-san dealt with stress."

"Alcohol...? How do you deal, sensei?"

Watanuki wrinkled his nose. "Unfortunately, my coping mechanism is Shizuka."


	8. To Define Forever

Theme #14: Wine_  
_

_Will you love me...?_

Three months in Kimihiro, Time-Space Witch (1990-present), has his first customer fatality. He then, finally, understands Yuuko, Time-Space Witch (1850-2007).

"Maru! Moro..!"

"Yes, Watanuki-kun!" they chirrup back, displaying recently recovered glee.

"Bring me... alcohol, please." They don't cheer but glide, knowingly, away, returning with a glinting green wineglass.

Watanuki grins, wine sloshing inside his carafe.

"To Yuuko!"

Watanuki drinks to remember and forget, for Yuuko and her dream, in spite of Doumeki and his words; the life of the Dimensions Witch is lonely indeed. "Forever" for Doumeki apparently isn't "forever" as commonly defined.

_Forever... _


	9. The Last Dream

# 28: an overflowing cup

The tea flooded over the top of the teacup, spilling all over the counter and down the sides, pooling on the kitchen floor. The scalding liquid fell over his hands, brushing by, leaving blistering burns. Watanuki's eyes snapped open; he dropped the teapot, drew back. Doumeki watched, worried.

"Dreaming again?"

"No!" snapped Watanuki.

"Again," Doumeki stated as fact. He surveyed the mess on the floor, frowning, before looking back up into Watanuki's lost, panicked eyes. "Don't," Shizuka began, his tone a warning, "don't disappear." He pressed his lips to Kimihiro's creased forehead.

And Watanuki woke up from his last dream.


	10. Chopsticks

#18: Empty Box

Title: Chopsticks

There was a box in Watanuki's apartment, the size of his palm, lacquered with twilight-and-periwinkle squares, that sat on a shelf, half-forgotten. There was a silver butterfly emblazoned across the top.

There was a box in Yuuko's storeroom to match.

One on Doumeki's dresser, too.

Yuuko's had a pair of ears, an old watch, a set of cooking chopsticks.

Doumeki's had a hydrangea, two gloves, a pair of chopsticks.

Watanuki had thrown all those silly odds-and-ends out when he got back from the hospital. But he left the chopsticks, bound together by red string, right where they lay.


	11. Battles

#48: Dragons

Title: Battles

In Watanuki's antithesis-of-normal life, it was often the dragon that saved him from the prince.

Mugetsu was funnily overprotective. He would twine around Watanuki's wrist to nudge Doumeki's hand away; he'd curl up in the small of Watanuki's back to keep Doumeki from touching him. Any kisses in his presence were stolen.

Watanuki thought it was hilarious. He would reward Mugetsu with bits of deep-fried tofu; Mugetsu would send him little kisses on the wind.

And Kimihiro would laugh, and laugh, and laugh.

Even in his antithesis of normal world, though, the prince would win when the battle did end.


	12. Dazzled

Theme #20: Blossom

Title: Dazzled

"What's this?" Watanuki asked the Zashiki Warashi of the blossom she handed him.

She blushed furiously. "It's, um, a buttercup."

He smiled at her, brilliantly. "Thank you," he said, and thought it much better than last year's Valentine's Day present.

She smiled back tentatively.

"All right, that's enough of that," cut in the Ame Warashi quickly. "Seriously, I have no idea why you like him. We're going."

And when they were gone, Doumeki smirked.

"Stop that, jerk," Kimihiro said. "Shouldn't you feel threatened or something?"

"'I'm dazzled by your charms'," he said quietly, smirk softening, reciting from memory. "I sympathize."


	13. Soup

Theme #19: Burn

Title: Soup

The soup would burn if they kept this up, Maru and Moro knew, but they weren't going to be the ones to break the news to the pair in the kitchen.

The soup would burn and dinner'd be late, but Mistress would totally forgive it if she got this on videotape. Totally.

"Ah! Shi-shizuka! Stop it! I have to finish dinner!"

Doumeki glanced up from Watanuki's collarbone. "I'm pretty sure Yuuko will forgive you."

"Not the question- the soup will burn!" Entirely serious, he chastised Doumeki and sent him away, and Yuuko i just /i missed them.

The soup was delicious, though.


	14. Unexpected

Theme 6: Butterflies

Title: Unexpected

Butterflies were trouble.

Maybe not normally, but to Watanuki a butterfly invariably meant Yuuko. It was an unfortunate association; when other people would smile at one fluttering by, he cringed. And while he had yet to figure out why something so innocuous was _her _symbol, Watanuki knew enough be en guarde at the sight of one.

Which is why he wanted to drop the box she handed him, burn it, run screaming away and hide in a box.

Even having been warned, though, he hadn't been expecting flavored lube.

That was just not a traditional Independence Day gift.


	15. Tailspin

Theme 31: Spiral

Title: Tailspin

'_This is,'_ thought Watanuki angrily, _'a dangerous downward spiral.'_

Doumeki tightened his grip on Watanuki's hand and tugged him closer. Watanuki blushed like a shojo-manga schoolgirl or a teenage Subaru.

'_Scratch that,'_ he panicked, _'this is a flat-out tailspin.'_

Half his mind said begin flailing! Stop blushing, start shouting! NOW!

All that happened was a shy sort-of glance.

Half of his mind said, arms around his neck! Mouth, his, now! Come _on, people!_

The inner-Yuuko voice that Kimihiro had acquired agreed, and that scared him most when he gave in, tilting his head up to press his lips against Shizuka's.


	16. Misuse

Title: Misused

Theme 12: Ink

Doumeki taught him once that you had to hand-mix special ink for calligraphy, and had shown him how. He had taught him, stroke by stroke, to write the ofuda that kept him safe.

He had covered Watanuki's hand and helped him trace the characters with the pitch-black ink- yi heng and yi shu, dip down and back up to end the line. Set aside to dry. The skill has come in handy. The ofuda have saved his life before.

He's using the skill for a different purpose now, though.

Yi heng, yi shu.

Happy Anniversary has never looked so elegant.

Notes:

I'm assuming Doumeki can write ofuda, because a. he grew up a temple and b. his grandfather is Haruha.

"Yi heng and yi shu" are the names of some of the strokes in a Chinese character.


	17. Indigo

Theme 11: Pen

Title: Indigo

The pen Watanuki had borrowed spluttered, coughed, and finally shuddered to a stop in the middle of math. He shook it anxiously, drawing circles beside his notes in an attempt to jumpstart the ink flow before had to struggle to catch up, thank-you-very-much-Doumeki-who-lent-me-this-worthless-pen.

Watanuki swirled the ink around and pressed harder on the tip, speedily doodling small nothings and leaving unfilled indents on his paper. The pen shuddered under the pressure, then split cleanly up the middle and showered Watanuki's paper- and hand- in indigo ink.

The class stared at him in surprised silence.

This, he knew, was definitely staged.


	18. Picture Perfect

Theme #4: Picture Perfect

Doumeki seemed to be picture-perfect.

While saving Watanuki, Doumeki always looked like the fairytale hero, much to his charge's discontent. At the archery range, arrow aligned and about to fire, hakama artistically arranged, he could've been a history-book illustration. Even while lounging in the park, just lying there with a cup of sake, he looked the definition of al fresco.

Similarly stretched out on the bed, naked and asleep and lit by soft lamplight, Watanuki thought he was more than picturesque. He was photographic art.

Similarly stretched out on the pavement, covered and splattered in blood, Shizuka still looked picture-perfect.


End file.
